What’s the fastest you’ve ever gone on skis? 30, 40, 50, 60 mph? Maybe you hit 70 or 80 mph once or twice in your life? And how long were you actually skiing at that speed, a speed that scared the bejesus out of you? Maybe five or 10 seconds before you slowed yourself down to put a halt to the terror coursing through your body?
OK, now imagine what it would be like to be skiing so fast that you clocked the fastest speed ever recorded at an FIS World Cup downhill race – 161.9 kmh (100.6 mph). This is what French downhill superstar Johan Clarey was timed at on January 19, 2013 when he charged through the Hanneggschuss section of the famed Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, Switzerland – a record that still stands today in the Guiness Book of World Records.
What’s even more impressive though, is that Clarey, and everyone else who races in the Lauberhorn downhill (it’s the world’s longest World Cup downhill race at 2.7 miles in length) has to ski at an unbelievable velocity for about two minutes and thirty seconds – which is about thirty seconds longer than the average World Cup downhill race. And even though these racers are the most talented and well trained downhillers on the planet, that extra thirty seconds of trying to stay in control, coupled with terrain and turns unlike any other World Cup track, makes skiing at mach speed really, really tough!
“The Lauberhorn downhill is not only unique in its length, but also unique in turn shapes and turn types. Right when your legs start to burn you encounter the Brüggli-S turn, a 90/90 turn that you never train for or see anywhere else,” says former Canadian World Cup downhiller Manny Osborne-Paradis, who finished on the Lauberhorn DH podium twice during his career (2nd in 2010, and 3rd in 2008).
“It’s a demanding section where you brush the net at the start in the transition, and then try to avoid the air bags in the exit. And just as you’re exiting Brüggli-S, your legs are on fire and you still have a minute to go. By the end of the Lauberhorn, I just remember trying not to get spit on my goggles,” the friendly Canadian told me with a huge laugh over the phone a few days before Lauberhorn week kicked off.
I spent six amazing days watching the world’s best male skiers battle it out for the title of Lauberhornsieger (Lauberhorn Champion) in Wengen, a tiny little mountain hamlet perched high above the clouds in the breathtaking Jungfrau region of Switzerland’s stunning Bernese Oberland.
This year, I kept a daily diary in real time chronicling the week’s goings on in relation to the competition (Super G on Friday, the famed Lauberhorn Downhill on Saturday, and a slalom race on Sunday) and also took note of all the sights, sounds, and fun that can be had both on and off the slopes as a recreational ski traveler outside of the races.
Here’s what my amazing week in Wengen to cover the 96th annual Lauberhorn ski races looked and felt like in plain words and pictures straight out of my ski diary…I hope you enjoy reading my scribblings as much as I loved jotting them down!
MONDAY JANUARY 12TH, 2026
One of the biggest highlights of a visit to Wengen is the uber-scenic cog rail train ride up the mountain from the little town of Lauterbrunnen that sits at the bottom of the valley floor carved out by glaciers a kazillion years ago.
It’s believed the dramatic cliffs and 72 waterfalls that tower over Lauterbrunnen were a major inspiration for J.R.R Tolkien’s Rivendell, one of the Elven lands of Middle-earth the author wrote about in his Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit stories after visiting the area in 1911. This year’s race week train ride is my 18th since 2006, and I can honestly say, it never gets old. When the skies are clear, the views from the train’s large, panoramic windows are jaw dropping, and that certainly was the case chugging up the mountain today!
Mondays in Wengen during race week are also a great time to bump into old friends and ski racing colleagues who are also rolling into town. Today I ran into Marco Pfiffner who races for Liechtenstein, one of the friendliest and most easy going elite athletes you’ll ever have the good fortune of knowing.
I also stumbled across legendary American ski coach Johnno McBride, who is currently the Head Coach of the US men’s speed team. I’ve known Johnno (who hails from Aspen just like SNOW Magazine) since he was head coach of the Canadian men’s speed team a few years back, and I’m convinced he’s an actual, real-life Jedi knight disguised as a ski coach.
The highlight chance encounter this year was none other than Canadian speedster James “Gentleman Jack” Crawford, the 2025 Kitzbuhel Hahnenkamm champion who was doing a little grocery shopping this afternoon when we crossed paths. Jack, as his family and friends call him, is one of the funniest, and down-to-earth superstar athletes on the planet, and always leaves you with a big smile on your face when you leave his company.
TUESDAY JANUARY 13TH, 2026
Weatherwise, a grey and chilly morning and a glorious bluebird afternoon made for a great first downhill training run day. Spent the morning skiing with Laurel and Angus Crawford (Jack Crawford’s parents) who are in Wengen to watch their son compete, and a huge group of some of my oldest and dearest Swiss friends (Patrick x 2, Nils, Johnny, Beat hope you’re reading this).
Skiing with the Crawfords and the rest of their family is always a treat, and it becomes quickly obvious where Jack gets his guts and speed from when you ski with Angus who is a precision-controlled, high velocity beast on skis. OMG the fun we had, the mountain views we took in, Wengen and the Jungfrau region are so stunning!
Snow conditions on the recreational slopes are epic right now, with a nice, grippy, natural snow base that crunches and squeaks just as it should, the race course looks like it’s in top shape too.
Downhill training run 1 went off without a hitch, with the young, 24-year-old Italian skier Giovanni Franzoni (who had a very nasty crash into the nets here in 2023) clocking the fastest time overall. This young man looks like he’s the real deal. Curious to see how he’ll do in Thursday’s second training run.
With no training run on Wednesday, spent a very “colorful” evening at Tannebar, Wengen’s most legendary après ski bar having drinks (OMG the ACDC shots were amazing) and laughs with old friends like the bar’s owner, Ronald Nelissen (a sailboat captain in the off season), French team ski tech Sebastien Auer (Head Skis), former racer and current television broadcaster Lars Elton Myhre, and my newest friend Dave Jamieson, who owns the world’s most famous (notorious???) ski bar, Kitzbuhel’s The Londoner. Dave is helping support Swedish racer Felix Monsén (financially as a sponsor, and as a member of his race crew) and has even foolishly offered to let me hitch a ride to Kitz with him on Saturday after the downhill…I hope he remembers what he’s done in the morning…it’s 3am as I write this! Time to shut it down. I’m skiing at 9am tomorrow (today????).
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 14TH, 2026
Note to self: never plan on skiing at 9am when you’re up til 3am the night before. No training run today, so it’s a day of sightseeing through the Swiss Alps on skis – starting at 12 noon unfortunately (d’oh!!!!) on a day with perfect temps and bluebird skies.
Bumped into my Swiss brothers at Wengen’s Start Bar about 100 feet away from the Laubernhorn downhill’s start house and convinced them to do a few extra laps with me on the mountain before turning their focus onto après activities. After a drink at the Start Bar, and a few more at Tannebar this evening, I’m officially calling it a day, as Lauberhorn downhill training 2 is on Thursday, and an ACDC shot-induced brain fog is a definite no-no when there’s ski racing to be covered!
THURSDAY JANUARY 15TH, 2026
Having missed my morning pre-DH training run meet-up with my Swiss bros, I thought it might be a lonely day on the slopes…but then I ran into Angus again, and two sisters (Maya and Dana) who are close family friends of the Crawfords.
Ever the hospitable ski host, Angus guided us down the mountain into neighboring Grindelwald to check out the resort’s new state-of-the-art Eiger Express cable car, and…and even treated us to chocolate at the Lindt shop in the gondola terminal building!
DH training run 2 went off without a hitch, and wow, once again Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni clocked the fastest time, more than a second faster than the rest of the field. Now, normally that’s not a huge deal, as not everyone goes full speed on training run days. Still, two finishes at the top of the field in training is nonetheless very impressive. I’m starting to think this young man is going to be a legit star, but I guess we’ll see how he does at tomorrow’s Super G, the week’s first race.
When DH TR 2 ended, I met up with my Swiss brothers in the afternoon for a drink at Start Bar, and then ripped around the mountain shooting videos of my American ski brother Michael Sheehan (from Columbus, OH) shredding the slopes right under the Eiger, one of the world’s most iconic mountain peaks!
Dinner tonight was wonderful, a fabulous media banquet put on by the race organizers, and Made in Bern, an umbrella marketing organization representing the Canton of Bern. We took the Männlichen gondola up to the top of the mountain and walked along a candlelit path under a celestial blanket of glittering stars to the palatial Männlichen Berghaus. I’ve never seen the Eiger look as beautiful as it did tonight, lit by starlight. Met some wonderful Swiss journalists, and the Lauberhorn’s super friendly press officials who were excellent hosts. Time to hit the hay now, Friday is race day!
FRIDAY JANUARY 16TH, 2026
OMG the kid did it. I think I’ve just witnessed a ski racing supernova explode onto the world stage. Wearing bib number one, Giovanni Franzoni demolished the field by almost four-tenths of a second to win the 2026 Lauberhorn World Cup Super G title ahead of Austria’s Stefan Babinsky and Swiss ski phenom Franjo Von Allmen. This is huge, given the fact that the young Italian will be taking this momentum into his home Olympics in Milan/Cortina in a couple of weeks. What an absolutely epic race day it’s been! I can’t wait to see what this amazing young man is going to do in the downhill tomorrow! Can he keep it up?
In other news, and I managed to get on international television (my phone blew up with texts and screenshots) standing in the finish corral with Team Monsén’s Dave Jamieson – who has confirmed he’ll be giving me a lift to Kitzbühel on Saturday after the downhill (YAY no 12 hour train ride from Wengen to Kitz for me!).
Then later on in the evening, I got to play honorary bartender at Tannebar (good thing it’s not my day job as my shot pouring skills are slow and shaky) and was very generous in the free shots department with some very sociable Canadians who shall go unnamed (okay their name rhymes with Brawford). Off to bed now (and it’s only 11:45pm!!!) as it’s Lauberhorn Downhill day tomorrow.
SATURDAY JANUARY 17TH, 2026
The dreaded, and intensely warm “Guggiföhn” winds made their way into Wengen from the southeast today, and this forced the race jury to move the start to a lower position on the famed Hundschopf jump location, shortening the length of the race by about a minute.
To no one’s surprise Swiss ski legend (at only 28!) Marco Odermatt made history and dazzled the home crowd by winning his fourth straight Lauberhorn downhill race, something no one has ever done before, just ahead of Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr and Italian wunderkind Giovanni Franzoni! Fellow countryman and fan favorite Franjo Von Allmen also blew a few minds today, when he barrelled into the Kernen-S section of the course at 110 kph and managed to clip an airfence with his right ski.
Later on, Von Allmen, who is one of the most charming and affable racers on the World Cup tour chuckled and jokingly claimed someone had purposely put a slow-motion camera (which he also took out with his ski) in his way to slow him down just enough to keep him off the podium (he finished in fourth place).
The story of the day/week however is Giovanni Franzoni. This young skier is definitely the real deal, with a Super G win yesterday, and a third place podium finish today…what an absolutely amazing accomplishment for someone who had a violent crash (2023) on this very same track. I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do at the Olympics in a few weeks on home turf!
With the 96th Lauberhorn Downhill in the books, and in desperate need for a car ride to Kitzbuhel, Austria for Hahnenkamm race week, the world’s most spinetingling and spectacular downhill race, I must sign-off for this year.
This Lauberhorn (my 18th since 2006) has been an emotional one for me, as it’s the first one without my beloved Swiss brother and “best man” Michel Hunkeler (my wife and I renewed our vows in Wengen in 2016) who passed away after a long illness this past autumn. Thanks for the memories “Mige” and thank you for showing me the true meaning of Swiss hospitality and “bruderschaft” (brotherhood) for two decades, see you down the road for sure mein Bruder.
SUNDAY JANUARY 18TH, 2026
Despite not being in Wengen on Sunday for the Lauberhorn slalom, my team of local pals managed to get some amazing video of race winner Atle Lie McGrath trying his hand at bartending at Tannebar which you can watch on a reel I posted on Instagram (@theskiwriter @canadiandownhillers).
My good friend and Dutch brother Ronald Nelissen, who owns Tannebar, told me Mr. McGrath filled his Lauberhorn trophy jug at least four or five times, and even offered to pay (OMG Norwegians are THE NICEST people on earth) for the copious amounts of beer he enjoyed sharing with his teammates, coaches, and support staff.
The rest of the Lauberhorn slalom podium was filled with Brazilian ski racing superstar/fashion model/DJ Lucas Pinheiro Braathen who finished in second place (also hats off to his coach and my longtime golf buddy Nick Cooper and his colleagues for a job well done), and Norwegian slalom juggernaut Henrik Kristoffersen who took the third spot.
